Cassis
by Kaniner
Summary: When the landing party arrives on an abandoned ship, Spock hears a voice begging for help.
1. Chapter 1

.x.x.x.x.x.

"Captain's Log, stardate 2261.80. We're 8,000 kilometers from Sabik, now heading towards Janus VI. We've stumbled upon an apparently abandoned vessel. It's a private cruiser, the Normandy. Their shields are down, allowing our scanners to penetrate their security and allow and access to their channels. Neither the ship nor its passengers have been reported missing. I doubt she's here because they ran out of fuel." Jim paused thoughtfully, his hand under his chin curling to a loose fist as he pondered the ship on screen. He sat up from his slouch in the Captain's chair and nodded to the navigation station.

"Computer, end recording. Mr. Spock, scan for signs of life. Uhura, try hailing them again."

"Aye, Sir," Uhura said, though her tone made her reluctance clear. She had attempted four times to contact the ship. After each attempt in multiple languages, there had been no reply.

"Nothing, Sir," she reported after the final attempt.

"Captain," Spock called for his attention. "Scans are showing no signs of life from known nomenclature."

"Not a creature was stirring, huh…" Jim stared at the ship. His curiosity piqued, he clapped his hands together, decision made. "Alright, ladies and gents. No one just up-and leaves a perfectly good cruiser for no reason. Let's find out what that reason is."

Jim rose from his seat and waved a hand to the Vulcan. "Spock, you're with me. Sulu, take the con. Bridge to Security; get a team of three to beam aboard the Normandy."

After the chorus of affirmatives, he made his way towards the lift, pausing to wait for his First Officer. Spock tapped a few commands on his screens and relinquished responsibility of the station to an Ensign. He glanced briefly at his PADD before joining Jim in the lift.

The two made their way in comfortable silence to transporter room. When the doors parted, three from security were waiting for them, as well as Dr. McCoy.

_So much for quiet. _Jim thought.

"Bones, do you have a bug on the bridge or what?" Jim asked by way of greeting.

Despite Jim's cheerful, too innocent grin, the doctor was scowling.

"I always know when you're up to no good," the country man grumbled. "The Enterprise parks next to some stranded mystery ship? Of course you don't report it to Starfleet or some other authority. No, your first instinct is to jump right in!"

"Our mission is exploration, is it not?"

"Yeah, of "strange, new worlds," not anchored ships."

"We ought to find out what happened," Jim reasoned. "Someone might be in need of help."

"There were no signs of life!" McCoy cried, exasperated. "They could all be dead from some poisonous gas for all we know!"

Spock held up his PADD. With a few swift movements from his fingers, he tilted the screen so the doctor could view it. "Initial scans of the ship showed their life support is functional. Cabin pressure, oxygen levels and humidity are all within normal parameters. No harmful gasses or toxins were found."

McCoy read the report. "Yeah, their system is an open book, but you two have a tendency to attract trouble. There's no telling what happened on that ship. "

"All the more reason to find out," Jim said.

"All the more reason to steer clear…"


	2. Chapter 2

Introducing some OC's here, but they won't be important beyond this and the next chapter.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Ensigns Knowles, Flagg and Madsen stood behind Kirk and Spock as the group prepared to beam aboard the Normandy. Each had a phaser, and Flagg had a tricorder strapped on her shoulder. Kirk briefly wondered how much red tape she had to fight through to be allowed to wear the men's uniform rather than the deliciously short dresses for women. Her blonde hair was styled in a messy sort of bob.

Madsen was a Danish man with short, feathery brown hair and strong features. He looked more suited for some heartthrob band than security, but Kirk had long since stopped underestimating "pretty boys." Beside him was the muscular, tall Norwegian-Canadian man Kirk had seen frequently in the ship's gym. Knowles had muay thai experience and could send his sparring partner spinning to the floor, but he had kind eyes.

Kirk nodded in satisfaction. Worse come to worse, this group could handle themselves.

"We don't know what's going to be over there," Kirk briefed the team. "It could be nothing. Remember, we're here to help, so keep those phasers to stun. Let's hope they just went off to fetch gas."

"Illogical," Spock said at his side. "Starships do not require gasoline to function."

Jim rolled his eyes. He could see the young Ensigns trying not to smile. "Noted, Mr. Spock. It was just a metaphor."

McCoy was still scowling at them as they stepped aboard the transporter platform.

"You lot be carefully over there," he said, his voice soft. "I'm busy enough as is without having to babysit reckless farm boys and hobgoblins."

Kirk chuckled and waved slightly. "Energize, Mr. Scott," he commanded.

"Aye, Sir."

Light flared and he felt the familiar tingle as their atoms dematerialized. Using the transporters always reminded Kirk of when his foot fell asleep after sitting incorrectly. He understood –to an extent- why Bones didn't like them.

They beamed to what was estimated from the scans to be a small room. When they rematerialized, they found themselves in the main battery. The two gun lockers were secured, fully stocked. The desk facing the doorway was in order, the workspace impeccable.

"So far so good," Knowles said. "No signs of trouble here. If there was a fight, they would have gone for the guns."

"Unless they weren't able to," Flagg said, her voice low.

"Cheery," Madsen added dryly.

"All right," Kirk chided, his tone in the way a teacher would scold their class. "Let's move on."

He held his phaser at the ready and motioned for the door. Spock at his heels, the others trailing closely behind, they went through.

With a hiss of air, the door parted and they quickly scanned the room. After looking carefully, it was obvious no one was there.

They walked out into a crew deck. Before them was a small mess area with two tables and a kitchenette. On the parallel side to them was another office. A divider and a lift were behind the mess hall, and a small hallway with closed doors beyond. Closest to them was a short hall with computer stations lining the walls.

Kirk wandered out, inspecting. The kitchen was neat. No food or dishes were out and the surfaces were clean. All the chairs were pushed in, and the monitors on the stations were signed off. The doors in the hallway by the lift led to an observation bay and recreation room, bathrooms, and personal quarters. Besides a few piles of dirty clothes, the rooms looked lived in and ordinary.

"No signs of struggle. No nothing," he said, awed and admittedly disappointed. He shook his head. On the dividing wall with the lift was a regulation map of the ship, complete with directions to emergency pods. They were on deck three of five. He pointed to the map.

"Let's split up. You three go to deck five, the hangar and storage deck. At this point, I'm not even expecting to find bodies, but see if you can find logs, or anything implying who was here and why. It's the largest deck, so split up if you must, but stay in contact with each other and Mr. Spock and myself. We'll check the navigation and bridge on the second floor."

"Aye, Sir!" the Ensigns replied in unison. Without wasting time, they diligently took the lift down.

Only one lift was present on the ship, so Kirk and Spock waited for it to return.

Kirk half-turned to his First Officer and admitted, "I'm beginning to think this was a waste of time."

"I am sure Doctor McCoy will be most pleased to hear that," Spock said.

Kirk quirked an eyebrow, a habit he could only blame on spending too much time with the Vulcan. "Oh yeah?"

"I believe he will feel, as the Terran saying goes, no news is good news."

"Except when it's not," Kirk smirked. "It baffles me though. Why leave? I figured we'd at least…"

Kirk's voice seemed to fade away. Spock frowned slightly as his head felt cloudy, like something was pressing into his mind. It was like a detuned radio searching for signal. He was filled with a sense of surprise and fear that were not his.

"Spock?"

His eyes snapped to attention. Kirk was staring at him and he was keenly aware it was not the first time his name had been called.

"Captain."

"Are you all right?"

Spock nodded. "Someone is here, Captain." The presence in his head became more insistent.

"…_..e….p….he….m…"_

"I hear a voice."

Kirk looked around, confused. He strained to listen for the sound. "Spock? What do your Vulcan ears hear?"

"It was not audible," he corrected. "The voice was in my mind. Someone's mind reached out to my own."

.x.x.x.x.x.

Author's Rambling:

As far as Flagg wearing the men's uniform… In the original and the Abram's movies, the girls all wear those skimpy dresses. Uhura wears pants only after being promoted later in her career. It's one of the only things from TOS that I have a slight issue with. Yeah, it's a lovely sight, but using the women as eye-candy it goes against the idea that they live in a world of equality. (Don't get me started on that Carol Marcus scene from STID! Ugh!)

Kirk's last line may come across a bit strange. It's a not so subtle quote from something.


End file.
